Raiders will entertain Chipola, the No. 1 team in the NJCAA's latest poll; 15-1 NWF State women will host 16-1 Chipola.

By BRANDON WALKER / Daily News

Published: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 09:51 PM.

NICEVILLE – Realistically, tonight’s home game against the top-ranked team in the country is just the second game in a 12-game Panhandle Conference marathon for the Northwest Florida State Raiders, and a win or loss tonight will not determine either team’s conference fate.

For basketball fans, though, it’s hard to imagine a bigger early-season game for either team than tonight’s between Chipola at Northwest Florida State. Chipola (18-0) will enter The Arena for a 7:30 tipoff tonight as the No. 1-ranked team in the NJCAA National Poll while the Raiders (15-1) will hit the court ranked No. 7.

“Well, I think we have to look at this realistically,” said Northwest Florida State head coach Steve Forbes. “It’s a big game be-tween two teams, but you can’t get too high or too low based on what happens. If we win, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to win the league and if we lose, we are not out of it.

“The biggest thing to me is that it’s a home game. To win a league of this caliber, you have to hold serve at home. And for us, that starts Wednesday night.”

Both teams enter at 1-0 in Panhandle Conference play, as Chipola took care of its home court against Tallahassee while NWF State went on the road and opened Panhandle play with a 78-73 win at Gulf Coast.

“We expected a hard-fought game at Gulf Coast and that’s what we got,” said Forbes. “I really thought our kids showed a lot of resilience. There were a couple of times where we could have folded and made excuses, but we didn’t. Any win in this league is a good win.”

The Raiders, led by Chris Jones, whose average of 23.4 points per game ranks third in the country, will have to deal with a balanced Chipola attack, one that includes six players averaging double figures in points.

Averaging 81 points per game, Chipola can employ the same up-tempo style favored by the Raiders, or they can slow down and score in halfcourt sets.

“They’re just really balanced,” said Forbes. “They’ve got a lot of guys who have been through the conference wars before, so they don’t get rattled. They can put five or six guys in double figures, and that makes them hard to guard. Guys like Kruize Pinkins, Earl Watson…These guys can definitely play and it’s going to take a great effort to beat them.”

NWF women host showdown of one-loss teams
For the first time this season, the Northwest Florida State Lady Raiders (15-1) are looking to bounce back from a loss after a 73-66 defeat at Gulf Coast on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the road gets no easier tonight when Chipola (16-1) pays a visit.

Chipola’s only loss came in a 76-66 loss to FSC-Jacksonville, a team the Lady Raiders have beaten twice.

Offensively, Chipola follows the lead of Lashonda Littleton and Kristine Brance, who average 16.1 and 15.6 points per game respectively.

Tipoff for the women’s game is set for 5:30 p.m. at The Arena.

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NICEVILLE – Realistically, tonight’s home game against the top-ranked team in the country is just the second game in a 12-game Panhandle Conference marathon for the Northwest Florida State Raiders, and a win or loss tonight will not determine either team’s conference fate.

For basketball fans, though, it’s hard to imagine a bigger early-season game for either team than tonight’s between Chipola at Northwest Florida State. Chipola (18-0) will enter The Arena for a 7:30 tipoff tonight as the No. 1-ranked team in the NJCAA National Poll while the Raiders (15-1) will hit the court ranked No. 7.

“Well, I think we have to look at this realistically,” said Northwest Florida State head coach Steve Forbes. “It’s a big game be-tween two teams, but you can’t get too high or too low based on what happens. If we win, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to win the league and if we lose, we are not out of it.

“The biggest thing to me is that it’s a home game. To win a league of this caliber, you have to hold serve at home. And for us, that starts Wednesday night.”

Both teams enter at 1-0 in Panhandle Conference play, as Chipola took care of its home court against Tallahassee while NWF State went on the road and opened Panhandle play with a 78-73 win at Gulf Coast.

“We expected a hard-fought game at Gulf Coast and that’s what we got,” said Forbes. “I really thought our kids showed a lot of resilience. There were a couple of times where we could have folded and made excuses, but we didn’t. Any win in this league is a good win.”

The Raiders, led by Chris Jones, whose average of 23.4 points per game ranks third in the country, will have to deal with a balanced Chipola attack, one that includes six players averaging double figures in points.

Averaging 81 points per game, Chipola can employ the same up-tempo style favored by the Raiders, or they can slow down and score in halfcourt sets.

“They’re just really balanced,” said Forbes. “They’ve got a lot of guys who have been through the conference wars before, so they don’t get rattled. They can put five or six guys in double figures, and that makes them hard to guard. Guys like Kruize Pinkins, Earl Watson…These guys can definitely play and it’s going to take a great effort to beat them.”

NWF women host showdown of one-loss teams
For the first time this season, the Northwest Florida State Lady Raiders (15-1) are looking to bounce back from a loss after a 73-66 defeat at Gulf Coast on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the road gets no easier tonight when Chipola (16-1) pays a visit.

Chipola’s only loss came in a 76-66 loss to FSC-Jacksonville, a team the Lady Raiders have beaten twice.

Offensively, Chipola follows the lead of Lashonda Littleton and Kristine Brance, who average 16.1 and 15.6 points per game respectively.